It’s hard to pick favorites when you are the editor of multiple magazines, but if forced to do it, the annual autumn issue of this publication would certainly take the lead, if not first place. The combination of autumn being my favorite (read: cool) season and our annual Design Masters feature, as well as the reader’s choice Best of Home winners being announced, is hard to beat. It’s so inspiring to read about the impressive work of our Design Masters each year. The people highlighted are at the top of their game and are making New Orleans a more beautiful and functional place to live. Our annual Best of Home contest is a lot of fun and affords us the chance to hear from you, our readers, and to watch a little friendly competition break out between professionals in the design community. Yes, we see you campaigning and we’re here for it! One of the other elements of this issue that I love is that we are finally able to reveal the New Build of the Year. Historically this home is chosen about a year or more in advance, so we are tasked with staying mum for a long 12 or more months. I’m confident that you’ll love this year’s pick as much as we do. It is modern, fresh and fabulous. The other home we are highlighting in this issue is the innkeeper’s apartment at the Sully Mansion in the Lower Garden District. I first met Melinda, the innkeeper, during a tour of the mansion after it had been renovated and reimagined as not only a bed and breakfast, but also an event venue. She offered my colleague and me a tour of her apartment and we both swooned. I knew at that moment we had to get it into the magazine. Her eclectic, bohemian style is infused with midcentury modern flair and is at once chic and sophisticated, and — most importantly — cozy and inviting. Inspiration abounds in this issue. I hope you love it as much as I do — and potentially as much as I love autumn. Cheers!
Editor’s Pick
In August, “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibition opened at the New Orleans Museum of Art. This exhibition centers on the recent acquisition by the museum of five works. Gee’s Bend quilts — born of the remote, historically black community by the same name in Alabama — have been displayed in museums throughout the world and are notable for the maker’s artistry, experimental design and mastery of textile design. The exhibition runs through March of 2020. noma.org
DESIGN MASTERS
Join us on Sept. 5 for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and to celebrate our annual Design Masters and Best of Home winners. This elegant event is being held at Messina’s at the Terminal at the Lakefront Airport, a stunning local Art Deco treasure designed in the 1930s by New Orleans architect Leon C. Weiss and his architectural firm Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth (also know for designing the Louisiana State Capitol, among other notable local and statewide institutions and commercial properties). Tickets are available at 2019designmasters.eventbrite.com.
THERESA CASSAGNE PHOTO
